Course Announcement: Gas Monitor Awareness Training

Employers who issue portable gas monitors for confined space work and hot work do so within a framework that includes the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Employer and worker duties under that framework apply to equipment suitability, training, maintenance, pre-use checks and reporting.

Issuing monitors without training can leave workers unsure about checks, correct use and alarm response. Inconsistent pre-use checks can leave a faulty sensor undetected before work starts. Drain maintenance, hot work and poorly ventilated tasks can expose workers to toxic gases or unsafe oxygen levels. Smell cannot establish safety. A normal reading does not guarantee that conditions will remain safe.

Other relevant requirements include the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), which cover suitable equipment, inspection and maintenance. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) cover exposure assessment and control, while the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) cover fire and explosion risk management. The compliance basis also includes HSE guidance on safe work in confined spaces (L101, 2014) and EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits (2020).

Brand-neutral guidance gives employers a consistent foundation for monitor checks, correct use and alarm response across different work settings. For employers, this training can help to:

• Establish a consistent awareness baseline for workers issued portable gas monitors
• Support consistency in pre-use checks, bump testing and fault reporting
• Reinforce correct monitor placement and continuous monitoring during work
• Reinforce how workers respond when an alarm activates, from stopping work to leaving safely
• Support training duties under PUWER, COSHH and DSEAR

This course is for workers using portable gas monitors across construction, utilities, manufacturing, facilities management and local authorities, as well as oil, gas, petrochemical, tunnelling and civil engineering operations, including the following roles:

• Confined Space Operatives
• Water and Wastewater Operatives
• Gas Distribution Operatives
• Maintenance Technicians
• Welders and Hot Work Operatives
• Construction and Civil Engineering Operatives
• Manufacturing Operatives
• Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Operatives

Trainees learn how to:

• Recognise hazardous atmospheres and understand why sight and smell cannot establish safety
• Recognise employer and worker responsibilities for gas monitoring within safe systems of work
• Recognise four-gas monitor hazards and where dangerous gas concentrations may accumulate
• Interpret oxygen percentages, parts per million (ppm), percentages of the lower explosive limit (LEL) and alarms
• Complete pre-use checks and recognise the different purposes and timing of bump tests and calibration
• Use portable monitors before and during confined space work or hot work
• Respond to alarms and recognise the retesting, controls and authorisation required before re-entry
• Recognise monitor limitations and follow permit-to-work procedures and safe systems of work

To read the complete course outline, click here.

Do the workers you have issued portable gas monitors share the same understanding of pre-use checks, bump testing and alarm response?

Enrol your workers on our Gas Monitor Awareness Course to give them a common foundation for checking portable monitors, using them correctly and responding to alarms. The course is suitable for workers with no previous formal gas-monitor training and can be used to reinforce your organisation’s gas-monitoring arrangements across teams and sites.

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For more details about this course, please contact us.